The Sound of Laughter
by iamconstantine
Summary: Things are changing in the mind of Riley Anderson. New Personality Islands, Bing-Bong's presence, Joy's nightly adventures outside Headquarters...There's also a new face around, one that Joy finds herself drawn to. JoyxOC (A request by user lexboss)
"Come on, let's have one more go at it! One last ride!"

Joy took a deep breath and gripped the iron hold of the wagon tighter. Behind her, Bing-Bong pulled the wagon back again, the wheels clattering unevenly over the fading gray memories below them. The cliff of Long-Term Memory rose intimidatingly high before them.

"As loud as you can," advised Bing-Bong. "Loud as you can!"

Joy nodded, and Bing-Bong began running forward. The wagon clattered and clacked and climbed up the slope to the cliff. Just as it began to rise, Joy reached behind her and pulled Bing-Bong in with her. The two of them began to sing as loud as their lungs could manage, to the point that they were practically screaming. The broomstick shot out the rainbow-colored exhaust at full blast, and they rocketed up the side of the cliff. Up, up, up, come on...! They were going to make it...!

And they did.

Joy and Bing-Bong yelped as they hit the ground. They took deep breaths, calming down, and then the realization that they had made it sank in. Joy cheered and bounced on her feet. Bing-Bong let out cries of "We did it! We did it!" as he lifted her up and span her around with one arm. His left one was still faded, disappearing from his elbow down. Joy had only just now noticed it, but wasn't worried - Riley would remember him again.

"We made it~!" sang Joy. The smile on her face dropped into a frown. "Sadness! We have to find her!"

Bing-Bong set Joy down and looked around. "You're right! Alright, I am also technically one-eighth dog, so I can use my tracking skills to locate her." He put his trunk to the ground and sniffed hard. "I got something!"

He stopped when Joy patted him on the shoulder. She pointed at the line of blue memories leading into Long-Term. "She came through here!"

Bing-Bong beamed. "I knew my tracking skills where ri - ACHOO!" His trunk honked loudly with a sneeze. Glitter-like sparkles shot out of his nostrils. He chuckled shyly. "Bless me."

"Come on!" Joy grabbed his sleeve and took off running for Long-Term.

They were going to get Sadness back. And so help her, they would get back to Headquarters and save Riley - even if it didn't necessarily mean making her happy.

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Joy sighed in relief at the scene depicted in the screen. Riley and her parents were seated in their living room, a small lamp set up between them and boxes of takeout in their hands. They were sharing memories of Minnesota, of hockey games and Christmas mornings and birthdays long past. It was bittersweet, but not bad at all. Sadness had taken over the Control Panel for a while, something that was somewhat of a unanimous decision.

Joy looked behind her. The other emotions were talking to Bing-Bong, greeting him like a long-time friend. He was very enthusiastic to meet everyone, and the feeling was mutual. Beyond them, Riley's Islands of Personality were alive and beating, especially Family Island. The bridges led all the way back to Headquarters. The core memories glowed a faint blue underneath the floor.

Watching it all, she felt like she was forgetting something. Her eyes flickered from Bing-Bong to the hidden core memories. A light-bulb lit over her head, and she looked around for the sack she had used to carry the core memories. She picked it up and reached deep inside, feeling around. Finally, her fingers met something hard and smooth, and she pulled it out.

It was a memory, originally yellow but now faded gray around the edges. There was a blurry image inside, depicting Riley and Bing-Bong in his 'rocket-ship' singing without a care in the world.

"Bing-Bong!"

The imaginary friend and the other emotions turned to her when she spoke. Joy held up the memory, and Bing-Bong beamed in excitement. He gave her an anxious nod, and Joy pressed a few buttons on the Control Panel, winking at Sadness as she did so.

The projector fell down from the ceiling. Joy tossed up the memory, and it was instantly held in place underneath the chute. A yellow beam shot through the memory, and as its yellow color came back at its fullest, the memory appeared over the screen. Bing-Bong and Riley squealed and laughed when the rocket ship rolled over and they went sprawling into the grass. If there was an imagination filter on it, they'd probably be sprawled over the moon's surface, bouncing up and down in their spacesuits.

Riley's vision was blocked from them, but everyone heard her voice as she chuckled, "Remember my old imaginary friend? What was his name?"

"Bing-Bong!" Her mother's voice replied. She laughed. "The cat-dolphin-elephant with the song-powered rocket ship!"

Her father laughed too, and mused, "I didn't think you'd remember him!"

Joy heard a laugh behind her, and turned to see what it was. Bing-Bong's arm was filling back in, and he wiggled his fingers. Beside him, his rocket-ship/wagon reappeared at mint condition. He was so happy, he was practically dancing with glee. He ran over to Joy and grabbed her hands once again, spinning her around like a windmill. Joy squealed and giggled.

"Thank you," Bing-Bong cheered. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Sadness, get over here!"

He had pulled the blue emotion into his embrace before she could utter a syllable. He bounced them both up and down, all while the other emotions laughed at the sight...and stopped when Bing-Bong pulled them into the hug, too. Disgust tried to wiggle out, Fear tried to tell Bing-Bong to be careful, while Anger was growling in annoyance.

Joy just continued to laugh and laugh. Things were going to be different from then on, but there was nothing wrong with that.

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The new function of Riley's mind fell into place soon enough.

Joy was now completely willing to let the other emotions take control every now and then. She would admittedly get a little anxious sometimes, but she always reminded herself that she wasn't the only important emotion. Sometimes, the emotions would take controls together. For example, Disgust and Fear would take over if Riley was watching a horror movie. Or maybe Sadness and Anger would take over if they lost a hockey game, but only for a little while. As this went on, more core memories came in, but they weren't always pure yellow. Sometimes they were green and purple, or blue and red, and they would form a new Personality Island. This was made easier with the new Control Panel, which allowed them to work together.

Bing-Bong spent some days in Headquarters, other days in the outside. Not that anyone minded either way. They all loved Bing-Bong, but some days were busier than others and they couldn't spend a lot of time with him when they were at the Control Panel. Joy made a point to keep the one memory of Bing-Bong safe, just in case.

The one thing that took a bit more of getting used to was Joy's decision to leave Headquarters every now and then. Not in the middle of the day, of course - she convinced the mind-workers to run the Train of Thought past Headquarters just as Riley was falling asleep and then go back the first thing in the morning. The other emotions didn't catch on immediately. Not that Joy could blame them - she didn't want to get stuck out of Headquarters again, either. But she hadn't failed to catch the Train yet, and she was determined not to.

Besides, there were things outside of Headquarters that she still wanted to learn more of. Most of the time, she and Bing-Bong would travel together, hopping from Imagination Land to Dream Studios to where-ever else. Every time, she would learn about new areas of Riley's mind that she hadn't heard of before. The river running through Imagination Land was the Stream of Consciousness, and like the Train of Thought, it would stop flowing when Riley was asleep. She never saw one, but Bing-Bong said that sometimes there would be something called a 'Brainstorm', a thundering cloud that appeared in Imagination Land when Riley was thinking hard about something. There were also three towers deep, deep, DEEP in Long Term called the Id, Ego, and Superego, but they were so far away that they would never be able to travel there before Riley woke up.

One night, as Riley was settling down for bed, Joy bid the other emotions good night and hopped onto the Train of Thought just as it came bustling by. She held her head out of the window so that the wind ran through her hair as the Train sped forward. The train was approaching the station closest to Imagination Land, and Joy could see a purple blob awaiting at the track.

When the Train began to slow down, and the blue sky above them darkened, Joy hopped off and sped towards Bing-Bong.

"There you are!" He pulled her in for a short hug, and the two of them went walking into Imagination Land. "Alright, the Stream of Consciousness should be slowing down now, so we should be able to make it across! Ooh, I can't wait until you see the other side! Chocolate Springs, here we come!"

Joy laughed as they kept going. However, as they did, she noticed the Mind-Workers that were walking around in hard-hats and safety vests. That usually meant that they were either building something or tearing something down.

She tugged on Bing-Bong's jacket. "What are they doing now?"

Bing-Bong made a sort of "oh" sound and pulled her over a few feet to see. The Imaginary Boyfriend Creator was surrounded by construction machinery. The screen that usually depicted the Imaginary Boyfriend's appearance was now blank. Mind-Workers all around were discussing whatever and shouting orders.

"Apparently the Imaginary Boyfriend Creator is going of of use, so they're shutting it down," explained Bing-Bong. "Want to watch?"

Joy shrugged, and the two of them sat down to observe the scene.

A pink Mind-Worker was at the control panel of the Creator, pressing some random buttons. She hummed thoughtfully and furrowed her brows.

One of the other Mind-Workers, a blue one, called from the wrecking ball machine, "What's the verdict?"

With her eyes still on the screen, the pink one called out, "It's still got some juice left in her. She's not going down easy until it's all out."

A purple Mind-Worker walked up and looked over her shoulder. "So what are we going to do?"

The pink one hummed thoughtfully. "I think if we give her a go one last time, that should drain her. Then she'll be dilapidated enough for take-down."

"Sounds good to me," the purple Mind-Worker sighed. He waved his hand at her as he walked away. "Fire her up will full charge. Full politeness levels, full kindness levels - fill up at the personality points. I want every last drop out."

The pink Mind-Worker nodded and went back to clicking at the buttons. The screen flickered past images of past Imaginary Boyfriends, and finally stopped. The image depicted a boy with blue hair and blue eyes, with notably pale skin to boot. He was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved striped shirt.

The Creator rumbled to life. The conveyor belt began moving again, the pipes on top exhausting out smoke. The door opened, and out came the new Imaginary Boyfriend, just as the image described him. However, he didn't come out with a breathy "I would DIE for Riley!" Instead, he looked curious as he came out, and stumbled when the conveyor belt came to a stop.

The white machine faded to gray behind him, and he yelped when he saw the wrecking ball come swinging. The machine exploded into multi-color sparkles and glitter on impact and almost instantly collapsed on itself instantly. The boyfriend jumped off the conveyor belt just as it went crumbling down.

The boyfriend almost landed on a Mind-Worker, causing him to reel back and bark, "Watch it!"

"Sorry! Sorry." He chuckled shyly, but frowned when he saw the destruction of the Creator. The Mind-Workers kept walking by with no mind to him, ignoring him entirely. Awkwardly, he spoke up, "So...What am I supposed to do now? Where do I go?"

One of the Mind-Workers shrugs. "Not our problem. Do whatever you want."

His smile faltered. "But I don't even know where I am!"

All together, every Mind-Worker called, "Not our problem!"

In mere seconds, everything—the remains of the Imaginary Boyfriend Creator, the equipment, every Mind-Worker—had left, leaving only the boy behind. He stood there, blinking, looking around left and right with pure confusion written across his face.

Joy couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for him. He looked absolutely lost with no one t help him. It made her feel a bit guilty for using the other Imaginary Boyfriends to get her, Bing-Bong, and Sadness to Headquarters. At the time, she hadn't thought much about it, since they seemed to be carbon-copy robots constantly bleating "I would DIE for Riley!" She wasn't getting that kind of feeling with this one, however. He seemed genuinely unique, but now what was he going to do?

Bing-Bong must have had the ability to read her mind, because he hopped to his feet and suggested, "Let's go say hello!"

"What?" was the only thing Joy was able to say before Bing-Bong pulled her over to the boy. Bing-Bong tapped on his shoulder, causing him to jump and turn around. Joy was a bit surprised—he was more attractive up close than she'd realized. Not drop-dead gorgeous, but certainly handsome.

"Nice to meet you, friend!" Bing-Bong took the boy's hand and shook it eagerly. "My name's Bing-Bong! The cotton-candy-elephant-cat-dog imaginary friend of Riley!" He paused and rethought his words. "The...cotcanelphacatdog imaginary friend. And this—" He pulled Joy close and smushed her into his side. "Is Joy, one of Riley's emotions! And you are...?"

The boy blinked confusedly at them. Eventually, he sputtered, and chuckled awkwardly. "Oh! Uh...I'm...My name is..." He rolled his hand, but no name came out. "My name iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..." He let the sound draw out.

After several seconds, Bing-Bong cut him off. "Well that's no problem! Let's give him a name!"

"Okay!" Joy smiled at the boy reassuringly. "Sounds great! Now, how about...?"

"Yogi Boo Boo," cried Bing-Bong.

The boy just made an "uh" sound in response, while Joy immediately shook her head.

"Foofy Woogums!"

"Uh..."

Joy put on a smile and turned back to the boy. "How about - ?"

"Billy Bob Norton!"

Bing-Bong was met with blank, confused stares that made him duck his head and roll is thumbs. Joy clapped her hands together with an "Okay...How about..." She snapped her fingers. One could see the light-bulb going off over her head. "Alex! Riley really likes that name!"

And he— _Alex—_ smiles. And boy, is it a good smile. Joy is filled with an unfamiliar feeling. It almost feels like warm bubbles, rising into her chest and swelling there to the point of bursting. But she just can't place it.

And the feeling only increases when Bing-Bong grabs both of them and pulls them close for a hug. The way he's holding them, Alex and Joy's faces are mere inches apart. His eyes are bluer up close, and his face is redder, too.

Bing-Bong says something or another about friendship and new faces. He puts them back down and says, "Well, why don't you tell us about yourself?"

Joy figured that the Imaginary Boyfriends must have certain personality traits 'programmed' into them, because despite just gaining a name, Alex was soon casually speaking of himself. "My favorite animal is a red panda."

Joy made an 'ooh' sound at that. "Mine too!"

"My favorite color is yellow."

Joy did a small dance on her feet. "Mine too~!"

"And my favorite movie is—"

Joy held up a hand to stop him. " _Power Girl Teen Force: The Movie_?"

Alex gasped in wonder. _"Yes!"_

Joy squealed in delight. "Mine tooooo!" She laughed and smiled at Alex. Suddenly placing her hands on either of his cheeks, she exclaimed, "I like you already!" She turned to Bing-Bong as she smushed the poor boy's face. "Bing-Bong, he is one of us."

Bing-Bong replied with an enthusiastic "Yay!" Alex, meanwhile, was grinning bashfully all the while. Bing-Bong insisted that Alex join them for the rest of the journey, and there was no protest.

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As the day went on, Joy came to realize just how similar she and Alex truly were. Okay, so they weren't carbon copies of each other—admittedly, that would be a bit boring if they were. But they were definitely alike in many ways. They laughed at the same things, found interests in the same subjects. Alex was very curious about the mind of Riley Anderson, and Joy, as always, was happy to explain everything. He paid rapt attention to everything.

Alex, Joy learned, was not just curious, he was absolutely _bubbly._ Always laughing, cheering, looking at everything with wide eyes full of fascination. Bing-Bong joked once that the two of them could pass of as long-lost twins...if that were in any single way possible. And Joy would be lying if she said that she wasn't enjoying her time with Alex. It didn't help that he had a surprisingly contagious laugh.

Alex, meanwhile, was feeling the exact same way. Don't get him wrong, everything in Riley's mind was fascinating, but Joy took the cake. She was quite literally glowing, her skin and hair always alight in yellow and blue. She never seemed to stop moving, either. Her eyes, her legs, her hands were always moving about, and he couldn't keep up with her nor keep his eyes off of her.

They passed by several Mind-Workers, and eventually one of them called to Joy that the Train of Thought would be heading out soon. They all ran back to the station, where the Train of Though faced headquarters from the station. Joy climbed on and turned back to Bing-Bong and Alex. "You guys want to come with?"

Alex didn't answer for himself and instead turned to Bing-Bong. The imaginary friend shook his head and replied, "I'm good. Maybe I'll show Alex around some more."

Alex nodded and smiled at Joy. "It was nice to meet you. See you later?"

Joy nodded. "Tonight."

The Train shifted forward at last. Joy quickly grabbed onto the door to keep her balance, and waved to Bing-Bong and Alex as she sped away.

She was looking forward to that night.

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That night went to the next night, then the next, then the next week, and the next month. Every night, Joy and Bing-Bong, and now Alex as well, would venture around Riley's mind together. They would chat, tell jokes, did pretty much everything possible. Alex found a home in Cloud Town when he wasn't with the two of them, and quickly came to understand the function of everything.

Alex eventually visited headquarters and met the other emotions there. Surprisingly, they got along relatively well. Anger and Fear weren't particularly close to him, but they'd exchange friendly conversation together. Disgust also seemed to like him, but was more concerned with his fashion choices over anything. He even managed to make Sadness smile, an impressive feat. Once or twice, he would stay in headquarters when Riley was awake and observe the emotions at their work. He was curious and asked questions, but never got in the way of their work. He was completely enamored with Riley and her life.

Alex and Joy also grew immensely closer, to the point that they were unfazed to refer to themselves as 'best friends'. Now, not to say that their relationship was absolutely perfect—every now and then, there'd be an accidentally rude remark, a conversation that verged into awkward territory. But in a sense, it just made their relationship stronger, as they became aware of one another's flaws and problems.

They also both noticed that Bing-Bong and the other emotions were beginning to act...strangely around them. Bing-Bong would sometimes trail behind them a few feet, or excuse himself to go do something else. The emotions would smirk and grin at them, but refused to tell why when asked.

One night practically like any other, as Joy was hopping onto the Train, Bing-Bong told Joy and Alex that he would be unavailable the following evening, but couldn't explain why. He told them not to wait up on him. Before he left, he suggested—with great fervor—that they go to Dream Studios together to observe a dream being recorded. Rainbow Unicorn was rumored to star in it, and that was all Joy needed to know before all but screaming at Alex that they had to go see it. He agreed just as the Train took off.

So, come the next night, as Riley was in the process of brushing her teeth before bed, Fear turned to Joy and asked, "So what's the plan for tonight?"

Anger, from his spot on the sofa, flipped a page of his newspaper and asked, "You hanging out with Bing-Bong and Alex again?"

"Well, Alex. Bing-Bong's busy."

The other emotions perked up at this news. Curiously, Sadness asked, "What are you going to go do?"

A grin split across Joy's face. "We're going to Dream Studios to watch a dream. I can't wait~!" She said this last part in an excited squeal as she danced on her feet.

A sudden scream ran through the air, making everyone jump. Joy hardly had any time to react before a pair of hands were on her shoulders, shaking her. She barely registered Disgust's green face directly in front of hers as the shorter emotion screamed, "YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE!"

She suddenly turned to the others fast enough to bring whiplash. Her hands flitted about in a panic. "It's happening! IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!"

Disgust ran to the ramp leading to the dormitory. Joy fruitlessly called after her, "It's not a date! It's just...to buds spending some quality bro time together." She said this in a cheery voice that even she knew was unconvincing. But it couldn't be a date, right? Emotions and imaginary boyfriends don't date...right?

Disgust waved her hand as she came descending back down the staircase. She has a small pink box in hand and forced Joy down onto her knees when she came to her. "Right, and I came into existence yesterday. Shut your eyes, I'm doing your make-up!"

Joy took a look behind her as Disgust reached for her cosmetics. Riley was walking over to her bed. Joy stood up, running past Disgust to the train drop-off. "There's no time! I've got to go!"

As she hopped onto the train, the emotions called after her, "Have fun!" "Bat your eyes!" "Be careful!" "Tell me if he breaks your heart—I'll tear out his for you!"

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Alex was awaiting her at the station, in attire that she hadn't seen him in before. He was still wearing his striped shirt and sneakers, but had pulled a tidy blazer over it with a multi-colored pin on its breast. His hair had been combed, too, neatly spread over his head.

She waved at him as she jumped off the Train. She gave him a bemused smile. "What are you all dressed up for?"

Alex shrugged. "I dunno. Bing-Bong told me to wear this."

She looked down at his hands. He was holding a bouquet of bubblegum flowers from Imagination Land. "What are those for?"

He shrugged again. "Bing-Bong told me to give them to you."

He held them out, and she took them. Then he held his elbow out to her, and she linked their arms together. "Why are we walking like this?"

Alex's voice raised another confused octave. "Bing-Bong told me to!"

Joy sighed and shook her head. "I don't understand anything anymore."

Alex replied with an agreeing sigh.

They made their way into Dream Studios together. Characters and props passed by them. Directors, designers, and managers ran past with cups of coffee and clipboards. The sound of conversation and rolling wheels filled the air. The security guards gave them wary looks as they passed. Joy and Bing-Bong had long ago returned to Dream Studios to explain that the only reason that they'd sabotaged a dream was because of an emotional emergency. They were forgiven, but not forgotten. They still had a close eye on them at all times.

They went to Lot 3 for the dream and passed by busy, anxious actors and stage managers as they did so. They awkwardly had to swerve and dodge to avoid getting in anyone's way.

They looked around for somewhere to sit, but stopped when someone tugged on Joy's skirt. It seemed to be the cameraman, judging by his cap. He pointed to the two of them. "Joy and Alex?" When they nodded, he jabbed a thumb behind them. "Over there."

Alex and Joy looked up...and froze. A bench was set up a yard or two away from the scene of the dream, well out of the camera's sight. It was also lined in rose petals, candles, and chocolates and the back of it was a large cushioned heart. The letters 'A' and 'J' were on either side of the heart's face.

The two of them spared a look at each other. Then they shrugged nonchalantly and walked to their seat. Joy put her bubblegum bouquet beside her.

Finally, the actors were in place, the reality filer was in place, and the camera was ready. The director called "ACTION!", and the dream commenced.

It was as nonsensical as a dream could get. Rainbow Unicorn was there, but only for a few moments, much to Joy's annoyance. In total, it was about Riley coming across a talking tiger and bouncing on a red trampoline as a giant robot watched over them. Joy and Alex came up with the conclusion that, someway or another, Riley's dinner had something to do with it.

As Joy kept her eyes glued to the dream, Alex was more concerned with a peculiar Mind-Worker on the set. He was behind a backdrop and out of sight—Alex was the only one who could see him. He was holding up cue cards as if Alex were an actor and not a viewer.

'Hold her hand!'

'Compliment her!'

'Put your jacket over her shoulders!'

It had to have been Bing-Bong. There was no other explanation. But Alex was still as confused as ever. Why was Bing-Bong telling him to do all these things? What was the point? Unfortunately, the cotcanelphacatdog wasn't there, so he couldn't ask any questions. So he did as the cards instructed—he took hold of Joy's hand, complimented her dress, and shrugged off his blazer to put it over her shoulders. She was so glued to the dream that her only acknowledgment of his actions were quick, muttered "thank-you"s.

Finally, when Joy announced that Riley would probably be waking up soon, they stood to their feet. With a flicker of movement, Alex looked back behind him. The Mind-Worker was holding up one last cue card.

'Remember to kiss her goodbye!'

The mere idea made Alex flush bright scarlet, but Joy thankfully didn't take notice. She was going on about her review of the dream, about the character development and plot holes and whatnot. Alex nodded along and agreed at several points and argued at others.

They walked briskly to the Train, and Alex helped Joy inside. Joy put her bouquet onto a box of Facts and turned back to him. She kept one hand on either door as she said, "That was fun! I had a great time!"

"I did too!" Alex's smile was replaced with a stern frown. "The robot was still the best character."

Joy's smile fell. "Fine." Then it reappeared as the conductor of the Train approached the head. "See you tomorrow!"

"Oh, wait, wait, wait!"

Joy turned back to Alex expectantly. He waved his hand towards him. "Bend down."

Joy did so, expecting him to lean into her ear and whisper something. Instead, he quickly pecked his lips against hers. Then he pulled back and sent her a smile. "See you tomorrow!"

She was so shocked, her head so full of blood rushing to her cheeks, that she only replied "Yeah" when she was back at Headquarters.

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They were dating.

It occurred to Joy a few months after their visit to Dream Studios. That visit one turned into several more trips around Riley's mind just by themselves. Cloud Town, the Stream of Consciousness, the French Fry Forrest—just to name a few. Although they eventually lacked petals and chocolates and hearts, they all ended with a kiss on either the lips or the cheek. Sometimes they were pecks, sometimes they were "real" kisses. That's what Disgust called them at least.

Now she understood why the emotions had been smiling and smirking at them all this time, why Fear and Anger would pull Alex away to talk to him about Joy, or why Sadness and Disgust would ask a bit-too-casual question.

Not that Joy was upset about the revelation. No, it made her _happy._ Well, more so than usual. She _loved_ that she could call Alex her boyfriend. She was _ecstatic_ to spend more time with him, to talk to him and laugh with him. Every kiss and hug gave her a lovely warmth inside. Even holding hands was a pleasure. The other emotions teased her about her feelings. More than once, she'd been called out for her "Puppy Love". She could care less.

Alex was feeling the same way, although he was a bit shyer about it. Not that he wouldn't tell Joy that he loved her, he was just bashful about shouting it from the mountaintops. He tried to make her laugh just to hear the sound, and was sometimes just content to sit down and talk to her about completely random subjects. Once, they had a conversation about whether or not unicorns weren't around because they were under protective services. It was one of the most thought-provoking conversations he'd ever had.

And much like how the emotions teased Joy, Bing-Bong kept a close eye on Alex and Joy's relationship. After every date, Alex would be bombarded with questions about it. Sometimes it could be borderline annoying, but Alex knew that Bing-Bong was just looking out for them, so he put up with it. Bing-Bong would still offer pointers and advice for him, too, which he appreciated. Bing-Bong apparently had a PhD in love. Alex didn't believe that for a second, but let him have it.

It was a good long while after Alex and Joy's first date that Bing-Bong sat Alex down for a "super serious talk". To describe what it was about was difficult. Bing-Bong talked about commitment and eternity and although Alex had the basic idea of what he was getting it, it was still hard to keep all the details together. They came to a mutual agreement eventually, and when they did, Bing-Bong twirled him around in a bone-crushing hug.

And so came the day of New Year's Eve. It was only on holidays that anything out-of-the-ordinary was done in the mind of Riley Anderson. On Christmas, the emotions set up a tree in headquarters. On Valentine's Day, there were decorations of hearts and flowers. On New Year's Eve, the mind-workers put on a show of fireworks when Riley was asleep. The emotions usually crowded around the windows to observe them.

This year, however, Alex had invited Joy to see the fireworks with him. She wasn't sure at first—it was a tradition to watch the fireworks with the other emotions. However, at their all-too-enthusiastic insistence, she gave in. For the occasion, Disgust had forced her to be still while she combed through her hair and put a small yellow flower in it.

When she met Alex at the station, he was in his usual date clothes, the same ones he'd worn on their first date. He looked nervous this time around. Given, he always did, but more so now. She didn't ask why—the last time she had, all she'd gotten was a sputtered response of embarrassment. She didn't think it too abnormal.

The two of them went to Cellphone Island to watch. It was one of the islands closest to headquarters, and was the perfect place because the fireworks were fired directly over the Memory Dump. Cellphone had a huge, well, cellphone at its base, and Alex and Joy climbed over the keyboard to the screen. They laid down on top. The white light covered them in its glow.

Finally, the fireworks began. Red, blue, yellow, green, and purple sparkled across the sky of Riley's mind in bright bursts. It was an amazing sight to see, especially when it's all you _can_ see. Joy held up a hand so that it looked like the fireworks burst underneath her fingers. Alex looked over at her as she did so. He felt as happy as could be, but he could also feel those telltale butterflies that always appeared in his belly when she was around, but now they were uncomfortably fierce.

Alex leaned forward to sit upwards. Joy looked over at him expectantly. It wasn't exactly helping – with the light of the cellphone, she was glowing more than usual.

He took a deep breath and reached into his right pants pocket. He pulled out a small slip of paper and sent her an awkward smile as he folded it open. "I have no idea how I'm going to say this without breaking down into gibberish, so I wrote it down."

Joy sat up as well and folded her legs. With her wrists resting on her knees, she smiled at him encouragingly.

"I haven't been around for long. I know I'm just an imaginary boyfriend hardly even a year old. I don't know as much as you do. I haven't seen as much as you have. I do not hold the importance that you hold. I _do_ know that I love you. I _have_ become well-aware of the pure joy..." He stopped for a moment here to sigh exasperatedly and say to himself, "No pun intended...that I feel when you're around. You are important to me. And I'm pretty gosh-darn sure that you feel the same way, so..."

He paused, put the paper down, and reached behind him into his pocket. He withdrew the small box and opened it. Inside was a simple white-gold ring, with a simple blue gemstone at its top.

Alex, who had been looking down at it to make sure it was perfect, raised his eyes to Joy...and stopped. Joy's lips were wobbling, her eyes were brimming with tears, and she was making small whimpers in her throat.

He blanched and shook his hand and his free hand. "No, no, no, no, no! Please don't cry! I – "

He stopped yet again when Joy suddenly threw her arms around his shoulders, pulling him close. She pulled back and pecked him on the lips. Alex laughed out of both relief and happiness and teasingly asked, "Is that a yes?"

Joy rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Duh."

They pulled in for another hug. Suddenly, there was distant screaming, and they pulled away in confusion. They looked left and right to see where it was coming from. Finally, they looked back up at Headquarters. They could see the silhouettes of all the emotions and Bing-Bong, jumping and dancing. Judging by the tiny speckles, they were also tossing confetti. Their forms froze, probably due to noticing them watching, and slowly, awkwardly pulled away from sight.

Joy and Alex both rolled their eyes.

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"And...done! No. Done! No. Yes. Done!"

When Disgust finally _(finally)_ pulled away from sight, Joy inspected herself in the mirror. The wedding gown she was dressed in was simple and held the appearance of a sundress, sleeveless and a little below knee-length. Tiny blue flowers rimmed the hem of the dress, and a blue ribbon was tied around the waist. She still wasn't wearing shoes (she hated them!), but had given in to Disgust's insistence of a veil. It was attached to a hair-comb of blue flowers, and the light material just hardly brushed against her shoulders.

It was a month or so after Alex's proposal (considering that they didn't have to go through egregious planning and scheduling) and the day of the wedding. The ceremony would be held where the Card Castle used to stand, in the rather spacious clearing it left behind. All the Mind-Workers were invited, even those in Dream Studios at the expense of Riley having a dreamless sleep that night. For the time being, Disgust and Joy were in Alex's house in Cloud Town, while the groom himself was already at the clearing.

"You look perfect." Disgust inspected her work proudly at first...then somberly...then tears began to brim her eyes and her lips started to wobble.

"Disgust, are you _crying_?"

The only response Joy got was a dismissive whine as Disgust wiped away her tears. Sadness walked up to them then. Her white sweater and black pants were swapped out with nigh-identical black dress pants and a white dress shirt. She held a small bouquet of blue sunflowers in her hands.

She held them out to Joy with a bashful smile. "She's right. You look great."

"Thank you, Sadness."

The Maid of Honor nodded in response...but then her lip began to wobble, too.

"Oh no. Guys, come on, no..."

Disgust pulled Sadness into a hug, and the two of them sobbed into each others' shoulders. Joy rolled her eyes with a sigh.

There was a ring of the doorbell, and Joy turned around to see who it was. Bing-Bong stood there, his dirty brown jacket swapped out for a black blazer, but otherwise still wearing his signature hat and gloves. He smiled at Joy. "We're ready when you are."

When Bing-Bong turned around to stand outside, Joy rounded on Sadness and Disgust, who were dabbing away at the leftover wetness in their eyes. "It's happening! Let's go!"

Everything was in place for the ceremony when they arrived. A red carpet rolled down the middle of the makeshift aisle. One either side were rows of wooden pews, with multi-color ribbons tied between them. The carpet led to the "altar", which was really just a blank space with two tall vases of flowers on either side. Mind-Workers and other Dream Studio stars filled the pews. Alex stood at the ready at the altar. He kept twisting the bow tie of his tuxedo.

The score composer for Dream Studios began a light tune. Everyone turned sideways as Disgust and Fear walked down the aisle, joined at the elbows. Disgust was in a knee-length green dress, a bit dressier than her usual one, and Fear dressed in a purple suit. Disgust kept walking politely to the crowd with the hand not holding her small bouquet of flowers, but was obviously annoyed with Fear's nervous, rather twitchy steps.

These two were followed by the Maid of Honor and Best Man, Sadness and Anger. Sadness's dress was identical to Disgust's save for being baby blue in color. Anger wore a crimson version of Fear's suit. The two politely made their way down the aisle, Sadness rather shyly, Anger completely casually.

The notes of "Here Comes the Bride" began to play, and there was a pattering murmur as everyone rose to their feet. Joy turned to Bing-Bong, who already had his elbow extended. She looped it with hers, and the two began their descent.

The walk to the altar was both incredibly fast and almost went on forever. Joy saw faces, some smiling, some neutral, from both the Mind-Workers and the other emotions. Alex's smiling image grew closer and closer until she stood before him. Her smile mirrored his. It felt like a dream.

Bing-Bong sidestepped around them to take his place as the minister. He cleared his throat – honking through his trunk as he did so – and waved for the composer to stop.

"Dearly beloved," he called out. "We gather here today to witness the uniting of emotion Joy and Alex I-Don't-Think-We-Ever-Gave-Him-A-Last-Name in marriage. And what a lovely union it is. I promised myself I wouldn't cry, but I have broken that promise. Five times." A single caramel candy dripped down his furry cheek. "And it's about to become six. Anyway, this is usually the part where the vows are delivered, but seeing as we are on a very tight schedule and we started late and Joy's vow is about three hundred pages long, let's just get on with it."

Joy and Alex joined hands as Bing-Bong continued.

"Do you, Alex I-Don't-Think-We-Ever-Gave-Him-A-Last-Name, take Joy to be your wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish?"

The smile Alex gave Joy almost made her melt. "I do."

"And Joy, emotion of Riley Anderson, do you take Alex to be your husband, to have and to hold, to l - ?"

"Yes," Joy blurted out of excitement.

"I thought you would say that. May we have the rings?"

Rainbow Unicorn trotted up to the altar with a small cushion in her hooves. Alex and Joy each took each other's ring – Joy giving Rainbow Unicorn one last thank-you-for-coming as she walked away – and placed them on one another's finger. Each ring was a simple silver band.

"And so, by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you Alex and Joy I-Don't-Think-We-Ever-Gave-Him-A-Last-Name. You may kiss the bride, and I will turn around politely."

Alex and Joy both pulled each other in. They hardly heard the cheers and whoops, or the celebratory piano music. They were absorbed in each other, in their happiness. Nothing could distract them. Well, at least until Anger screamed "LET'S GET THE PARTY STARTED!", but otherwise, they just kept their eyes on each other.

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"Don't you ever get tired?"

Joy turned when she heard Alex's voice. His hair was tousled from sleep, and he was lazily rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. It was a week since the wedding, maybe a few days more, and Alex had kind-of-sort-of moved in. He still had his house back in Cloud Town, but he also had a room in Headquarters that he and Joy shared. They sort of alternated between the two places.

Joy turned to look up at the screen. There was Riley, gracefully sliding and dancing across the ice. So tranquil, so at peace.

"This is one of my favorite memories," she explained to Alex. "Just seeing her so happy, no problems in the world...It's beautiful."

Alex had since wrapped his arms around Joy's waist, placing his chin on her head, but kept his eyes on the screen above them. Riley turned, did a smooth figure-eight, then briefly joined her parents. There was a sort of beauty in it. He would probably never fully fathom his wife's adoration for the girl. It wasn't that he found it weird or baffling, he just wouldn't ever see the unbreakable size of it. But he found the bond between them, even if Riley wasn't aware of it, touching.

"Do you want to skate?"

Joy looked up at him with wide, questioning eyes.

He gestured to the space between the Control Pad and the screen. "I've seen you do it before. Care to do it with me?"

He extended an open hand to her. He also let out a whoop of surprise when she all but yanked him over to the open floor. They stood side-by-side, and Alex expectantly turned to her to instruct him.

She moved one foot forward, and he followed. Then the next foot, then the next, until they were sliding across the floor together. She helped him turn, then let him lead when she was sure he had the hang of it. She giggled when he span her around him, and closed her eyes in content as she pulled him to her. The memory of Riley was all but forgotten behind them. There was just the two of them, together, happy as can be.

"I love you" was spoken at the same time.

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They decide to share the news on Riley's birthday. It was something of a holiday in Riley's Mind, a day in which almost all of the memories rolled in bright yellow. They did it as soon after midnight as possible. Joy had been bursting at the seams all day, wanting so desperately not to give it away too soon, but not being able to go without speaking of the big surprise at the end of the day. Bing-Bong was anxious to learn, Sadness was curious, Fear was afraid that it was bad news instead of good, and Disgust and Anger grew tired of the wait. With everyone circled around them, Joy let the two words burst from her mouth at Alex's nod.

"I'm pregnant!"

There was only a moment of silence before everyone erupted into cheers. Joy and Alex were both lifted from their feet in a single embrace from Bing-Bong.

"This is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!" He finally put them back down. "What are you going to name them? Ooh! Maybe if it's a girl, you can name her Snuffleupagus!"

Alex just smiled and replied, "Why don't you leave the naming to us, Bing-Bong?"

Disgust spoke up next. "I call dibs on the clothes." Her lips smirked as she added, "This is going to be the most fashionable baby _ever."_

"I call dibs on equipment," declared Fear. "That means cradle, stroller, and playpen, and they're going to be waterproof, fireproof, meteor-proof, disintegration-proof – d"

"We get it," interrupted Anger.

"I can help, too." Sadness twiddled her thumbs shyly. "I can ask the Mind-Workers to bring up some memories from Riley's childhood, like songs and rhymes..."

Bing-Bong stepped forward and cried, "And I can help with anything!"

Joy and Alex laughed and thanked everyone. All throughout the night, they were asked about plans and suggestions, which they answered to the best of their ability. One would think that they were at least a little nervous, but no, they were absolutely excited and nothing could bring them down. Joy knew it sounded cheesier than macaroni, but she felt that any inkling of doubt she had was dashed away anytime that Alex gave her a reassuring smile. They could do this. They would.

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Her name was Happy.

She was like a miniature version of her mother. She had big blue eyes like a doll and messy curls of blue atop her head. With each giggle and squeal of delight, her yellow skin would shine brighter. _Literally a little ray of sunshine,_ Sadness had once whispered before ducking her head in embarrassment. She was all-smiles and laughter and everyone loved her.

Yes, even Anger.

"Alright! Someone remove this from me!"

Alex laughed when he saw Anger come stomping over. Happy, as per usual, had latched onto the red emotion's head in hopes of seeing the flames again. He was always careful not to unleash a blast of fire when she did so, but little orange fissures were appearing across his scalp. Alex plucked his young daughter from Anger's head, and she let out a little whine of protest. But then her father tickled at her belly, and she giggled, "Dada!"

Joy appeared beside him with a bottle of milk at the ready. Happy took snatched it up instantly. Sadness chuckled and raised a hand for her to grab onto.

A moment later, the drop-off for the train of thought pulled open, and in came Bing-Bong with so many toys in his arms that some dropped with every step.

"Here comes Uncle Bing-Bong!" he called as he came in. "And I brought toys for the - " He paused when more toys dropped from his arms. " - Wait - " He bent down to pick them up, but dropped more as he did so. " - Hold on, I - " He did the same thing again. "Welp." He gave up and just dropped everything.

Happy was squirming in her father's arms, and Joy took the bottle back before it fell to the floor. Happy kicked her feet and wiggled her fingers as she gave cries of "Bee-Ba! Bee-Ba!"

"There she is!" Bing-Bong took her into his arms. They adored one another in turn, and they were almost inseparable. As he held her, he sang, "Who is your friend who likes to sing and play~?"

He honked his trunk as Happy squealed, "Bee-Ba! Bee-Ba!"

Since Happy had been born, the babysitting duties had been passed around from person to person. Anger handled her just fine so long as neither of them had temper tantrums. Disgust would coo and sing to her, but threw her hands to the air the second that she started to drool or spit. Sadness was fine, too, but didn't really handle crying well – she joined in more often than not. Fear was more concerned with Happy's health and safety than playing with her. Bing-Bong was only second to their parents in handling her perfectly. Tears stopped within seconds with just a song or a joke.

"Hey, Joy!"

Joy and Alex both turned to look at the Control Panel. Sadness stood there, not quite taking control, just keeping an eye on things. Riley and a few of her friends were watching a movie at a sleepover. A Mind-Worker was just finishing a job and was packing away his tools into his bag. There was a new button on the Control, a round white one like the single button that had been in Headquarters the day that Riley was born.

"It's ready to go," murmured Sadness.

Joy held her arms out for her daughter. Happy squirmed in Bing-Bong's arms and cooed, "Mama! Mama!"

She laughed, little tears of, well, joy collecting at her eyes. It was hard to keep them down whenever she did that. She took Happy into her arms, cradling her against her shoulder.

Joy and Alex both walked up to the Control Panel. Keeping one arm under her bottom and the other around her belly, Joy held Happy up to the button. She at first cooed and prodded at it, then went to pressing at it. With each press, Riley let out a giggle. A few memories, a paler yellow than Joy's, rolled into the wall beside them. Happy laughed and cooed and let out a little squeak as her father leaned in to press their noses together.

Alex stood upright and gave his wife a quick kiss on the lips before pulling her against him. Joy sighed in content. Her, Alex, and Happy, all together. She wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
